The ramblings of a Toxic mind...

A tough sporting…

Sep172007

…weekend.

It didn’t start well on Friday afternoon, got even worse but had a reasonable bright end in the small hours of Monday morning.

So the bad start was Kevin Pietersen’s gobbing off about how good it would be to send Australia home from the Twenty20 World Cup and yet again not backing up the words with deeds as it was England that trapsed of the Cape Town ground humiliated.

But worse was still to come later that Friday as the current rugby world champions pretty much threw away their crown. They were probably trying to throw it to each other but failed miserably. Don’t know if I’ve witnessed such a spineless display of ineptitude, though maybe I have as it was almost like watching the Andy Robinson managed debacles. I expected more of Brian Ashton but he as much as anybody failed big time.

The shocker against the USA the previous week had shown that certain individuals weren’t up to it, main culprit being scrum half Shaun Perry. Ashton made a serious mistake in leaving it so long before he replaced the number nine with Peter Richards, who made an instant impact and has looked in his few caps as a player capable at this level. This mistake was compounded by the fact Ashton picked Perry to start against South Africa, where he managed to be even worse, did he actually put a the ball in at any scrum, can’t remember one, it was just him standing there holding the ball, tap the prop and wait for the ref to blow the whistle hoping that it wouldn’t be England penalised, asking for trouble that the way refs like to blow up for anything if it’s against England. Perry is just so damn so in open play as well, where Richards is quick to the break down and then quick in his actions Perry lumbers up then spends ages looking round as if willing the opposition to somehow snaffle the ball so he doesn’t have to make a decision.

I suppose the night was summed up when Corry was picked as captain, a slow dullard that’s a good club player but never really impressed at international level. The only one that could leave the field with his head held high was Jason Robinson, an excellent display saddened by the thought that with his injury that could be his last game of rugby, not the best game to end on.

Friday ended on a bright spot as the Yanks burst out in the eight inning against the much vaunted BoSux ‘pen to turn a 7-2 deficit to a 8-7 winning lead.

No fight in the team at all it seems the midfield was over run but then it’s always going to be when you have such lightweight wastes of space like Jenas ponce about in there. The defence also failed to close down throughout the game allowing the scum all the space they wanted to pass and shoot, Kaboul showing a particualr piece of spineless acting when he did that routine so beloved of the likes of Rio Ferdinand of pretending to block a shot when in reality they’ve ponced out of it by turning their back far to earlier this time for Fabregarse’ score – I can’t remember the name of the film, or indeed who was in it but the scum player look’s like one of the inbred cave dwellers in a British horror flick (first thought was “Death Line” but I don’t think it is) also could play one of the Oddbod parts from “Carry On Screaming”.

So twelve months on Spurs find themselves in the same league position, 17th, with the same amount of points, four, after another abysmal start to the season after a cracking preseason, and it’ll have to be the first UEFA Cup game of the campaign against Anorthosis Famagusta to kick start the season just like last. If not even more pressure on BMJ, why does he play Jenas and why bring Lennon on the left?

Saturday got worse as the Sux took Chien-Ming Wang apart in the 10-1 loss for the Yanks.

Sunday started off well when England had South Africa 94 for 6 in their opening game of the Twenty20 Super Eights. This of course couldn’t go on as they dropped a number of catches to let them of the hook, those three sixes by Morkel straight after he’d been dropped were a killer – and put up a score which England shouldn’t have had to chase and couldn’t manage to do.

So I wasn’t holding out much hope for the live Yanks v BoSux game on five last night. When Damon dropped Ellsbury’s flyball to left field I figured here we go a feeling reinforced when Damon was called out at first when he was clearly on the base before the ball reached Hinske’s glove, so when Jeter flied out it was inning over and not two out with one run scored.

As the innings rattled by I started to wonder is this going to be the fastest Yanks v Sux game shown on five, normally it’s not over much before 5am but with the Rocket and “Anything for a” Schilling sending hitters down in quick time could this be an early bed?

Nah it doesn’t happen like that, a good pinch hitting decision by Torre to bring in Giambi to get a single and moving Mientkiewicz to third and after Damon gets out up steps Captain Clutch, hitting over .400 with runners in scoring position with two out, bye bye baby as that ball flies out to the monster, a 4-1 lead.

But that wouldn’t make things end early after Lowell got one back with a single shot for Joba’s first earned run in the bottom of the eight there was the usual wobble by Mo in the ninth.

Walking two, hitting a third letting a run score to close the gap to 4-3 and having the bases loaded with Shreky “I’m batting over .350 against you” McChinstrap at the plate, Mo was just trying to make sure I stayed awake for the end which was a nice popup to Jeter game over Yankees win.

Jeter got the player of the game but I think Mientkiewicz deserved some mention for it, he had a number of plays that saved the Yanks during the game, also a good move by Joe Torre to play the more defensively secure player at first rather than the bigger hitting Giambi with Posada taking the DH spot.

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